American Craft Show 2007

By Jamie Thingelstad,
April 17, 2007.
412 words, about 2 minute read.

We went to the American Craft Council Craft Show in the River Centre in St. Paul today. We missed it last year which was a big bummer since Bill Hickman was there, and we have a number of his pieces. This year the show seemed larger than it has been in previous years, and the attendance was really good especially when you consider it was $12 a person just to get in and look at things. Some of the stuff that really caught our eye was…

Flinn Designs
The artwork from Flinn Designs was very eye catching. The colors were bold, and the texture in the pieces made you just want to touch it and rub your fingers over it. It had a depth and warmth that was really impressive. The story behind the artists was also compelling. They have a large amount of land and take in dogs that need a temporary home, or sometimes a permanent home. They have a lot of dogs as a result, and the dogs have become part of the artwork.

Raymond Bock
People that do furniture like this are truly amazing. I have to admit that I really don’t know how to appreciate this stuff as much as I probably should. Tammy can tell you about me asking “Where are the nails?” one time when looking at some amazing stuff like this in the past.

Stoner/Hatton Mobiles
Ok, there are mobiles, and then there are mobiles! These mobiles were just so very, very cool. They had an entire series of mobiles that included these circus and acrobat characters that were just very cool. They were rather large, but I tried to convince Tammy that we should replace our mobile in the living room with one of these but she wasn’t going there. Try, try again.

Amazing Wind Machines
Okay, so a “whirligig” is maybe not art. Or is it? These were really cool, and made entirely out of plastic so they should last a long time. I desperately wanted to get the one pictured to the right here to use as a Winnipeg Folk Festival “marker”. It would be a stunning marker. But the price tag scared me off.

It was a great show, even with the entrance fee. We’ll definitely go again next year.